reliance
Americannoun
-
confident or trustful dependence.
- Synonyms:
- assurance, faith, trust, confidence
-
something or someone relied on.
noun
-
dependence, confidence, or trust
-
something or someone upon which one relies
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of reliance
Explanation
The word reliance is the noun form of the verb rely, which means to depend. Your reliance on the Internet for your information will be your undoing, if the power ever goes out. A person's reliance on something is their dependence on it. A mime's reliance on silence is the key to his performance: if he speaks, he'll be ruined. Your reliance on the kindness of strangers makes sense when you consider that you'll never run out of strangers upon whom to rely. Too bad you can't just lean on the folks that you know.
Vocabulary lists containing reliance
Talk Like Shakespeare Day, List 7
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Space
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"Rosa Parks" by Nikki Giovanni
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A task force on the issue creates an opportunity to revisit this history and to ask anew whether whatever conditions seemed to justify reliance on forward guidance in the past still apply.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026
With its own capacity, the company can reduce its reliance on a third-party cloud provider.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 18, 2026
The president also noted that the government had not implemented policies to diversify the economy especially in the agricultural sector, which would cut reliance on imported goods that can be produced locally.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2026
“Risks include challenges associated with managing a large pool of fast-depreciating assets, reliance on asset-backed securitizations to fund CarMax Auto Finance, and the inherent economic sensitivity associated with selling big ticket discretionary items,” Zackfia wrote.
From Barron's • Jun. 17, 2026
What is often called the strategy of nuclear deterrence is remarkable for its reliance on the behavior of our nonhuman ancestors.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
